Quality of life may be severely impaired in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Therefore, goal of its therapy is to minimize the impact of the disease on the patients’ quality of life in addition to improve the physiological and functional state. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate the association of periodontal health and COPD, and the effectiveness of phase I periodontal treatment on the quality of life in COPD patients using the St. George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ), consisting the spheres of symptoms, activities and impacts.35 subjects with COPD were selected and randomly categorizes into two groups: group A (n=17; received no periodontal therapy) and group B (n=18; received phase I periodontal therapy consisting of oral hygiene instructions, full-mouth scaling and root planing). Oral health status was assessed by evaluating simplified oral hygiene index, gingival index, probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level on day 0 and at the end of 12 months of therapy. Similarly, quality of life was assessed on those two days. A positive correlation between the severity of COPD and oral health was observed. Also, a significant improvement in all the oral health parameters and SGRQ activity score was seen in group B, in contrast of group A, where all the parameters deteriorated.  Thus, the findings of the present study may suggest that promotion of oral health care and knowledge through the phase I periodontal therapy may play an important role on modification of the quality of life in COPD patients.

Keywords: COPD, periodontitis, periodontal therapy, SGRQ.

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Dr Swarga Jyoti Das

Professor & Head, Department of Periodontics and Implantology,

Regional Dental College, Guwahati-781032, Assam, India

Phone no. 091-361-2463050

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